Removal of PIP breast implants on the NHS?

[midori1999]

What do you think? Should the NHS fork out to remove these implants? At all? In some cases? Not in any case?

 

[Midnight_Fairy]

I dont think they should have been left with this in the first place but I guess I would say with the threat of a health risk they should do it but I dont know how they would do this without having a backlog of ops and thats not right?

Surley the people had some insurance with their implants?

 

[smelly07]

I dont think this should be the NHS responsibilty at all.

you are told of all the risks before going ahead the risks have been slightly higher with the pip implants but not majorly. I think they are saying there is no need for remove them but they should be monitored as the risk going through surgery outweighs the risk in keeping them apparently.

personally i wouldnt risk my health even by 1% just for bigger tits but each to their own.

xxx

 

[Lightworker]

I havn't a clue what PIP implants are but from your posts I imagine they are a type of implant and something's gone wrong.

I agree that when doing such things as breast enlargement etc, any fall out must be borne by the individual. Saying that however, it then creates the argument that if you do anything that might affect you negatively, you should be responsible for the costs, and thats not an easy argument to carry in practice because you would have to turn away smokers, obese people etc.

 

[smelly07]

lightworker thats a very good point but then i would still think its the responsibilty of company that did the breast surgery in the first place not the NHS that should remove the implants unless it was done via the NHS xx

 

[Nibblenic]

I think in the cases where they have been put in privately, it is up to the company who put them in to remove them.
I think in the case where they were put in on the NHS it should be looked at at a individual case basis. If they were for example put in for reconstruction after cancer/accident then I would feel they should be monitored or removed.

I dont think the NHS should be offering any aid if they have been put in privately such as dr/nurse time or scans let alone removal.

 

[Doodlepants]

I think it is the responsibility of the private clinics to sort this out, not the NHS.

I have these implants myself- I went through HMG and paid a lot for my operation- I was not given a choice of implant so certainly did not choose the cheaper option. I was using a reputable company and stupidly thought I had no reason to doubt them. I was told that my implants would never rupture or need replacing. All of the other women I have spoken to were told the same.

We paid for high quality implants, we did not get them, the clinics are responsible as they are the ones who have not given us the product that we paid for.

The only time I think the NHS should pay is for the ladies who had them put in after having breast cancer or who had them on the NHS in the first place.

The clinics need to be forced to replace or remove at their own cost.

 

[lindseymw]

I think the responsiblilty for removing them lies with whoever used them in the first place.

If the op was done on the NHS, then the NHS should remove/replace
If the op was done privately, then the company should foot the bill for their own patients.

 

[Lightworker]

@Smelly..yeah, perhaps what they can do is the NHS takes them out, and recoups the cost from the company (this is for those that were implanted on the NHS only)..


This is like Holby City....

 

[Doodlepants]

The trouble is, the French company who made the implants has gone bankrupt so no-one will be seeing any money from them.

I don't think the majority of taxpayers would begrudge breast cancer patients having them re-done on the NHS, it is rubbish though- the French company shouldn't be allowed to get away with this.

Am livid at the private clinics trying to squirm out of this- all of the women I have spoken to have been back to their clinics and have been told to go the their gps for a scan!- Surely the clinics should be scanning?!

 

[Lina]

Most of these ops have been for vanity reasons and not medical, therefore the individual should be liable to replace them if company fails. The NHS is struggling enough as it is.

 

[Blah11]

Not unless they were put in by the nhs.

 

[Blah11]

Also in regards to what doodle posted, I find this very worrying that clinics get away with lying and people are having implants they don't know anything about being put in their bodies! Scary stuff.

 

[indy and lara]

I really struggle to see why the private companies, who have made a fortune out of implant surgery, should not be the ones who should be facing the cost of replacing faulty implants.

 

[Rhi_Rhi1]

most of these people managed to find the money for the boobies right ? so i'm afraid they should have to find the money to have them removed, and if its a case of emergency then yes take them out, but they will have to pay back the costs x

 

[xolily]

if the clinics are refusing to replace or remove or are somehow getting around it, what is the alternative? if the NHS don't treat these women, will they start turning away people who've had piercings that've gone septic? people that've carried out stupid stunts that've gone wrong? people that've gotten cancer due to smoking/sunbed use etc?

 

[xolily]

and i don't agree that just because women have afforded implants in the first place, they should afford to have them removed/replaced. from what i gather most patients were mislead/lied to, it's not something the patients could have predicted. my friend saved for 4 years for her implants!

 

[midori1999]

most of these people managed to find the money for the boobies right ? so i'm afraid they should have to find the money to have them removed, and if its a case of emergency then yes take them out, but they will have to pay back the costs x

I can see what you're saying. However, the people who put these implants in knew there were possible problems with them and they certainly knew they were cut price, but they were marketing them to women as 'top of the range' and saying they would last a lifetime etc. So, IMO, they are the ones who should be liable for the costs. If they want to, they can claim against the man who owned PIP, although the company itself has gone bust.

if the clinics are refusing to replace or remove or are somehow getting around it, what is the alternative? if the NHS don't treat these women, will they start turning away people who've had piercings that've gone septic? people that've carried out stupid stunts that've gone wrong? people that've gotten cancer due to smoking/sunbed use etc?

I agree, the NHS is there for women at point of need and women who's implants have ruptured absolutely need them taken out, so if they can't afford to have them taken out, then what? Let them get ill? (Or more ill in the case of some women)

The NHS have now said that where clinis won't take responsibility, they will and will recover costs from the clinics/surgeons who did the private surgery. The NHS won't replace the implants though and I agree with that.

I would like to see the government forcing clinics to be responsible though. It's nothing new in private healthcare, cosmetic or otherwise, the NHS frequently has to pick up the pieces and tighter legislation around private clinics is needed.

 

[Laura2919]

No they should not. If you wanted bigger boobs and you could find however many thousands to have them done then you should find the however many thousands to have them removed.
However if you had implants done for medical reasons i.e a massive breast size difference (my cousin had this done) then I would say they should.

 

[Lightworker]

Maybe for the future..women who chose to have implants for purely aesthetic reasons should be compelled to take out insurance or some similar agreement to ensure that they are cared for if something goes wrong, instead of leaving the NHS to pick up the pieces.

Does anyone know if there is something like this in place?